Denis Shapovalov was eliminated from the French Open after a first-round loss to Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria.
Meanwhile, Félix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal was set to begin his campaign against Germany’s Daniel Altmaier.
Shapovalov’s Struggles on Clay
Shapovalov’s match ended in a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 defeat. Faria secured a crucial break to lead 6-5 in the second set before serving for the win, putting Shapovalov on the verge of elimination.
Although Shapovalov fought back to win a game on return after an early break against him, another break restored Faria’s lead, who then served out the match.
Shapovalov, ranked 39th in the world entering the French Open, now has a season record of 8-11. He hit 10 aces but also had eight double faults and 48 unforced errors on the slow clay courts.
Mboko Advances to Second Round
Victoria Mboko had a successful start to her French Open campaign. She defeated Czechia’s Nikola Bartunkova 6-1, 6-2 in her opening match.
Mboko converted her sixth break in 10 chances to wrap up the match in 69 minutes, coming off an appearance in the final of the Strasbourg International tournament last week.
She faced just two break points, defending one.
The 19-year-old from Burlington, Ont., is making her second appearance at the clay-court Grand Slam after advancing to the third round in her debut last year.
Mboko’s Next Challenge
Mboko, the ninth seed in the women’s draw, will face Katerina Siniakova in the next round. Siniakova is No. 36 in the world in singles competition.
The 30-year-old veteran is also part of the top-ranked doubles team at Roland Garros with American Taylor Townsend.
Later Tuesday, men’s fourth seed Félix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal faced Germany’s Daniel Altmaier.